Meeting Reports

 

15th November - Winter Auction

Another successful auction was held this evening, with happy sellers and buyers!

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1st November 2018
Guest Graham Mark: "POWs in Britain in WW1"

Few of the Club members attending this evening expected such an expansive and detailed analysis of the life of hostile internees and prisoners of war, nor that there were 70 major camps of all descriptions with 700 work sites where the occupants were employed around the country. Graham explained that his display was mainly postal history, with many letters and postcards showing the camps and work sites, but that the theme was the story of the people involved as much as the variety of postal markings.

The period covered was from mid-1914 to January 1920 when the last of the POWs left the country. Initially German nationals who had come to England to avoid being involved in the upcoming War were given the choice to leave or be interned. However the port of departure was Folkestone but those arriving their to return to Germany were mistakenly interned. Initially they were guarded by boy scouts. However after inmate protests started, soldiers took over this duty. Graham skilfully picked out many of the camps used during this period, explaining their use, duration and the sort of work those encarcerated were deployed in. One example was at Hackney Wick where tools and parts were manufactured and then assembled to make Vickers sewing machines. There was considerable movement of personnel between camps, and some were sent overseas whilst others were brought to England. He highlighted a home in North Wales used for detaing submariner officers, their escape and futile attempts to be rescued before being caught again. He spoke of the nine prison ships, and showed mail relating to all these types of holding facilities. His last frame dispayed propaganda letters developed by the British Government and dropped over the lines in Europe.

Bob Small kindly gave the vote of thanks, for an exceptional display, and the Chairman presented Graham with a certificate and bottle of wine.

Graham with his display	Internees turned back at Folkestone	Postcard of Scouts on guard duty in 1914
Cover with Horsham cancellation from the Christs Hospital School Camp, with Free Post inscription, July 1914	Cover to the Commandant at the Alexandra Palace Camp	Cover from one of the Gravesend prison ships to the Aldershot Camp, January 1915
POWs exercising in the open at Dorchester Camp	Sewing machine made by POWs at Hackney Wick	Bob Small giving the vote of thanks

chris wheeler

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Guests: Blandford Club visit Us
18 October 2018

Two members of the Blandford Forum and District Stamp Club visited us this evening, each giving a 90 sheet display on his chosen subject. Patrick Reeves, Club Secretary, started with Channel Islands as his topic, concentrating initially on the early stamps of Guernsey. He showed us a range of the 1d and 2d values from the Third Anniversary of Liberation issue, with its various watermarks, and plate flaws, its use in Guernsey and the eight authorised post offices on the mainland.
After the break, Mike Spencer, a Cyprus specialist, presented the "Refugee Issues", explaining why they were first needed, their ongoing use, and the reason for their contuinuance even today. He showed the initial study for the stamp first issued in 1977, with a photograph of the mother and child used for the stamp's design. Three different designs have been used and these were shown on covers and together on the miniature sheet issued in 1999.

Guernsey's first "airport", on the beach, initially used by the Occupation Forces	First Day Cover of the 1d value from the Third Anniversary Liberation Issue	First Day Cover with the two values, issued in Manchester, one of the eight mainland towns sanctioned to cancel these Guernsey stamps
Study of the design used every year from 1977 until today	Cover with the Waddington's stamp, with the official slogan, 1987	Miniature sheet showing the three designs of Refugee Stamps

(chris wheeler)

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Members Displays - Open Class Topics
4 October 2018

Mike Trickett opened the evening with a wide range of postal items about Paris, including a humorous postcard, old postcards, letters, covers, stamps and two fake postcards. Also included were some rarely found Tuck postcards of the City. Rick Wilmott followed with an exploration of space travel, including some now very hard to find items, including authenticated signature covers, and cancellations relating the Rusian space exploration. Mike Houchen's theme was Rescue at Sea and he presented two frames of stamps, covers, labels, advertising sheets, etc. from countries all round the world collected mainly on one of his trips. Ken Parrott displayed stamp issues from Malta from 1860 to 1951 including the perforated Specimen issues from 1930. A range of different-facing watermarks was included. Chris Wheeler displayed two frames illustrating the achievements of Isambard Kingdom Brunel with a range of philatelic and non-philatelic items. Finally we were delighted to have Bryan Cribb's display of postard scenes covering the unusually seen views of villages in Dorset, a tiny part of his massive collection.

A Fake Postcard with Fake Stamp from France	Cover with authenticated signature of astronaut Yuri Gagrin	Rescue at Sea - cover from Norway with imprint
Two 1930 Specimen stamps from Malta	Postacrd (with view of Bristol Temple Meads) posted in 1904	Hhipton Gorfe, Dorset, one of many displayed of Forset scenes

chris wheeler

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Thursday 20 September 2018
Members Displays - Emergency Services, Medicine and Health

Mike Houchen began the evening with three sheets covering the history of the RNLI on stamps, postcards and charts, closing with some covers from Lundy designed by one of the Club's previous members. Ken Parrott followed with a range of covers from various countries, each showing different aspects of healthcare and sickness prevention. Also included were stamps from round the world on medical themes,including some charity stamps, such as those from New Zealand. Chris Wheeler put up two frames of covers, some with letters and inserts, addressed to or from hospitals around the world used in general correspondence or commemorating their anniversaries. After the break, Michael Mawdsley displayed a range of stamps on medical issues from many countries, including the non-descript 8c Canada example below. Alan King concentrated on the first French Red Cross issues of 1914 and the orphan issues from 1917, and also sets of New Zealand Health stamps from 1929 to 1969. Finally MikeTrickett displayed a wide range of postcards and stamps covering many health-related topics including Finland's first Red Cross issues, and a set from Greece.

Isle of Man miniature sheet commemorating the RNLI Founder, Sir William Hillary Three letters to Royston Hospital's patient Mrs J Jury Parkes Drug Stores, London, postcard of shop frontage Canada 8c stamp - World Health Day France - First Red Cross issues in 1914 Finland - First Red Cross issues in 1914 Finland - First Red Cross issues in 1914 France "Orphan" Charity stamps Rescue at Sea issue, extract showing the top perforation in morse code "SOS"

chris wheeler

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Saturday 8th September, 2018
ANNUAL STAMP FAIR

The Annual Stamp Fair took place with a steady flow of visitors throughout the day. Some buyers and dealers were very satisfied with the day's results, and the seven raffle prize winners returned home with happy smiles!

Setting up for the Fair	Checking the Raffle Prizes

chris wheeler

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6th September 2018 - Autumn Auction

Setting up

Although the number of participants was lower than usal, there was active bidding throughout the evening, and many attendees went away with heavy hauls of purchases, much to the sellers' relief! The new display layout was most successful.. Well done yet again to the auctioneer, his helpers and the accountants!

(chris wheeler)

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16th August 2018 - Guest: Albert Jackson - "Poland at War"

This was the most amazing of presentations, one that is impossible to describe properly as it was so comprehensive. Each one of the 180 sheets deserves a write-up on its own, so significant each one was. How all the material shown was collected and so competently ordered and written-up is astonishing, but those present had the treat of a lifetime. "Poland at War" told the story of the Polish nationals, the military and their families during the inter-war, World War II, and post-War periods. We all came away with enormous sympathy and admiration for the immense suffering and loss they experienced, and the fortitude they continue to show to this day in their attitude to life and to "getting things done".

The story begins with the Versailles Treaty in which the "Danzig Corridor" was created providing a wide strip of land fom Poland's heartland to the coast along the Baltic Sea, splitting Germany from its province of East Prussia. The Polish people occupied the land and settled there. It was part of Poland, however Germany wanted it back and through stealth and guile, as shown on some of the propaganda cards in the display, they were falsely accused attacking a Germand Customs post and Germany used this as a pretext for starting the war. This conflict is extremely complicated to understand as it lasted from the mid 1930s until the late 1940s, right through WWII, with countries involved in that changing sides and allegiances, so that one day the Poles were prisoners of one nation, and the next they were free, but prisoners of another. There were periods of national exodus from Poland as a whole, military alliances with countries when the Polish forces were on the move. Then with WWII over, various forms of repatriation followed from a highly dispersed military and family nation, spread from the Middle East, through Europe and Scandinavia to Great Britain, sadly with vast numbers of Poles not wanting to risk returning to their homeland fearful of reprisals and an uncertain future. The volume and diversity of mail throughout this period is extraordinary, ending possibly with the massive efforts to find and re-unite the widely dispersed families. The added complication of the Jewish imprisonment and extermination was yet another major subset of this whole story, also fully documenmted with examples of unique mail relating to the concentration camps.

This brief political background is necessary as Albert had so many examples of how the processing of the mail took place in so many different forms throughout this period, with for example surcharged rates by the Germans for the Poles, special inter-camp stamp designs, intricate procedures for mail to be sent via organisations and individuals in neutral countries as intermediaries, to recipients in War Zones and so on. A truly magnificent display and summary Polish history of that time.

Card showing the "Danzig Corridor"	Refugee Mail from Lithuania	Example of mail brought on a Polish destroyer into Britain when hostilities broke out.
Covert mail sent to Box 506 in Portugal	Letter sent to London via the "intermediary service"	Cover with incorrect surcharge stamps, corrected by supervisor
The reduced size Official stamps that had to be used by the Polish Authorities during the Occupation period	An inter-camp stamp designed by prisoners, but never used due to change of Alliance	Resettlement cover from London to Switzerland

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 2 August - Members Displays:- Science and Inventions

Chris Wheeler opened the evening with a frame of written-up sheets depicting stamps featuring famous mathematicians, scientists and theorists from 3000BC to 1000AD. These included well-known names such as Aristotle, Plato and Pythagoras. Ken Parrott followed with a display of British FDCs featuring the many issues from Royal Mail promoting our own scientists and inventors, many of the covers having pictorial representations of their work, closing with an example from Malta. Rick Wilmott then put up a frame of stamps and covers featuring Tesla, the inventor of AC electricity,telling us a bit about his life and the effect his discovery has had on the world ever since. Mike Trickett displayed the multitude of single and sets of stamps from 1934 to 1962 produced by France showing their country's many scientists and inventors, with an explanation of what they are recognised for. Wendy Buckle put up a frame of nine sheets from various competition entries describing the Chinese inventor of paper and its derivatives over the centuries with examples on philatelic material of their products and how they were used. Finally, Tony Arnold described with two frames of covers and ephemera he had mounted of British and Channel Island material covering a very wide range of inventions and scientific discoveries and how they are now used in our daily lives.

Stamps featuring Aristotle	Three famous French inventors	FDC commemorating the establishment of the metric system
10th anniversary of the Automatic Letter Facing equipment	Temi Zammit on Malta cover - he discovered the source of Brucellosis	Nicola Tesla, founder of Alternating Current
Chinese discoverer of useable paper	Manufacturing paper at the Chinese Imperial Court	FDC commemorating the British Genius Exhibition in Battersea Park, 1977

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 19 July - Members Displays - Weapons, Military

Most members put up a display this evening, ranging from classical well written-up to the more general format.   Although the topic was quite specific there was very little duplication, with worldwide weaponry and military themes spanning the last 1,000 years.  Colourful well explained displays captivated the audience and made for an excellent evening.
Rick Wilmot – Worldwide Victory issues from WWII, and a certified genuine and a forged copy of a 1944 Croatian miniature sheet;  Ken Parrot - the GB Battle of Hastings set, then a range of material from Malta;  Mike Houchen – Military scenes on stamps from Australia and the Channel Islands; Paul Edwards – GB Battle of Britain, the story of David Gentleman’s efforts to remove the queen’s head from that commemorative set, and stamps on the British Army; Mike Trickett – a range of material from WWI in France, the Viney Bridge Battle, and some unusual Propaganda Cards from GB and France; Michael Mawdsley – GB, Malta, Gibraltar, Australia and New Zealand stamps featuring weaponry; Nicole then put up a sheet of stamps from Belgium with the evening’s theme, and was followed by Tony Arnold’s five frame mega-display, starting with war posters and calendar pages from Australia, postcards relating to the War Effort, postcards from the Tank Museum and a miscellany of other war-related cards.
After the break, Wendy Buckle displayed a range of mail sent in, to and from Latvia during the period of German Occupation during WWI, mainly Fieldpost from the occupying soldiers, but illustrating the story of the censorship marks, cancellations and eventually the dumb cancellations; Alan King illustrated his talk with material from France, the Dominions, and finally the numerous GB “poppy” series of stamps; finally Bob Small displayed some amazing examples of postal history, going back to 1589, through the Napoleonic era, the War of Independence, a Service Paper, a Ballot Paper, a Transport Office letter to Stapleton Prison, and a letter to the Duke of Wellington.

Overprint of the 1½ Anna stamp forming the 1946 Victory issue from Aden	Certified original copy of the 1944 Croata miniature sheet	"Well, mate, you don't scare me!"
1944 Belgium stamp	FDC with David Gentleman's 4d stamp	Gruesome detail from GB Battle of Hastings 4d stamp
Postcard warning the public to takecare what they say, and where	Latvian fieldpost card with "dumb" cancel	Military despatch during the Monmouth Rebellion, from Lyme Regis, 1685
GB Poppy stamp, also voted the "GB stamp of the year, 2017"	Armed rider on camel, Aden stamp	"HMS London" leaving Malta in 1979 when the military bases there were closed

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 5 July - Christine Earle with "Open Philately"

Christine emphasised at the start of the evening that for a collection and club display, no fixed rules apply, therefore members can put up whatever they like within the description for the evening. "Collect what you want to collect and display what you want to display".

In the first half she concentrated on traditional thematic collecting and exhibiting, stressing that one must have a plan and a storyline, the opening paragraph beginning with such as "This exhibit explains..." or "This exhibit tells about..." Examples of good plans were shown, and the correct way to head each page. A reminder of what is allowed, and not allowed in a thematic exhibit was described. In the second half Christine showed how these basic Thematic principles applied to Open Class Philately, with the difference being that up to 50% of the material could be non-philatlelic, so such as coins, medals, postcards, maps, newspaper clippings, posters, letters, FDCs, etc can be included, provided they are relevant in telling the story. She explained how to narrow a large collection down to a 9, 12, 15 or 16 page exhibit, the importance of legible but succinct script and a subtle background paper. New for most members was how to use non A4 paper sizes, especially the one and a third width A4 (11" x 11"), which is so effective for larger items, thus having 3 x 3 in a 12 sheet frame.

After hearty applause, the Chairman presented Christine with a certificate and a dark blue dolphin brooch. The best presentation for along time!!

Christine showing use of an A4 sheet folded into 16 panels to assist in planning a display's storyline	A 12 sheet exhibit using three sheets of 11" x 11" (one and a third A4 width) instead of 4 x A4 sheets

An example of a good Plan	A medal used in the Open Class	A cigarette card used in the Open Class

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 21 June - Summer Auction

A mammoth auction took place with a bumper number of lots and turnover. This was in part due to the cancellation of the previous auction due to the "Beast from the East" when everywhere was frozen up.

About to start

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Thursday 7th June 2018 - Members Displays - Religion, time, time zones

This was a very full evening with many displays by members, Mike Houchen starting the evening using stamps and PHQ cards illustrating the "light character" of individual lighthouses around the country. He gave a detailed explanation of the workings of their time sequences, with examples of their colour frequency patterns, which sailors used to identify them. Paul Edwards gave examples of covers illustrating the religious aspect of cathedrals and celebrations, also showing a cover commemorating the establishment of Greenwich Mean Time in 1884. Bob Small followed with a page of stamps about John Harrison and the marine chronometer he invented. Chris Wheeler presented a 12 page competition entry about the Salvation Army, their worlwide distribution, range of work, music, uniforms and correspondence. Don Trowsdale illustrated GMT, Popes of the Vatican and the planets with a variety of stamps and covers. Then Alan King gave a very descriptive two frame display starting with time as a theme, the story behind the first Christmas stamp (Canada) and then stamps from GB, France and Hungary contrasting their treatment of religion. The first half closed with a huge five frame display of postcards by Tony Arnold illustrating all manner of clocks from around Great Britain.

After the break, Mike Trickett used a range of postcards from France illustrating cathedrals, Greek churches and then on the subject of time a range of postcards illustrating the mechanical workings of major world clocks. Finally Wendy Buckle put up a magnificent two frame display of religious manuscripts, their production, and the bibles, psalters and missals produced as a result. She included stamps from different countries showing how each of them treated the same subject differently.

GB PHQ Card showing the lighthouse time sequence	Greenwich Meridien cover	Abinger Hammer clock in Surrey
Anniversary cover celebrating John Harrison's invention of the chronometer	The first Christmas stamp, from Canada	Salvation Army cancellation from Vryheid, South Africa
St Peter's Church, Portland	Interior of the clock workings of the bells at Abdijoren le Middleburg	Different depictions of the Magi on stamps from Greece

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 17th May 2018 - AGM

A positive set of reports from Committee Members reassured members that the Club was on a sound footing after its 50 years in existence. Memories of the Anniversary Events was recounted. Mike Trickett received the 2018 Chairman's Award at the meeting in recognition of his contribution to the Programme, the Competitions and the Fair planning. Several members brought along non-philatelic items, noteably Rick Wilmot with his set of Russian buttons, Alan King with his childhood collection of cigarette cards, Mike Tricket with a 1920s Post Office balance and Maxine and Robin Humphries with several original paintings of their previous home environment in Tanzania and the Rift Valley. The meeting closed with plenty of refreshments including a 50th Anniversary cake.

Order of the Patriotic War 1st Class	View over the Rift Valley, Tanzania	1920s Post Office Balance with letter weight charges on the plate

Will's Cigarette Card from the 'What to do in the War' Series	Mike cutting the cake with Teresa beaming encouragement

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 3 May 2018
Gems, Gemstones and Mining

Chris Wheeler opened the eveining with a frame of stamps, miniature sheets and postcards from round the world illustrating the mining process from prospecting, to training schools, extraction, processing, transport and the fininshed product. Michael Mawdsley followed with a selection of stamps showing the Coronation Regalia, Gem stamps on cover, some interesting hologram stamps from Australia, and the Cyprus copper mine. MikeTrickett showed a postcard promoting Ireland as the "Emerald Gem", then some stamps from France illustrating various aspect of mining, a jewellery exhibition, and a 1952 stamp from the Netherlands. The last display was by Nicole Chattlain who put up a series of cards featuring women with their jewellery from Tunisia and Algeria. Finally Maxine Humphries gave a short talk about the mining she and her husband had witnessed whilst living in Tanzania and India, referring especially to the open cast mine near the Rift Valley in Malawi.

Postcard showing Gems from Tunisia	$1.20 Australia stamp showing a diamond in holograph form	Postcard promoting Ireland as the Emerald Gem!	Australia stamp from the Living Together series - Mining the Largest Nugget

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 19th April 2018
Competition entries displayed and awards; Members Displays: Fashion (first half silent)

The evening began with a display of the Competition entries from the last meeting and congratulations to Wendy Buckle for winning the Peter Owden Trophy for the best entry at the Ferndown Interclub Competition on 14 April. Ray Saunders was also congratulated for his entry in that Competition, representing the Club which came third overall.

After the awards for the Poole Club Competition on 15 March were given out, there was a members display on the topic of Fashion. Nicole Chattlain began with a frame of beautiful 1920s glamour cards, which everyone thought were stunning. Mike Trickett followed with a frame containing single 25 year old ladies in their French Fashion outfits including hats as worn on St Catherine's Day. English fashion ladies followed and he closed with a set of five items showing how redeeming items sent with postage due had changed over the years, from attached postage due stamps to yellow labelsto postcards containing instructions as to how to collect the item or pay for it over the internet. Don Trowsdale had put together a cornucopia of GB stamps illustrating how the Royal Mail had used fashions of the day as images on their stamps issues, fashions including traditions, uniforms, fishing flies,and music groups. He included two postcards one of the oldest working postbox, and one of a postbox in Ceylon, converted from a torpedo.

Chris Wheeler put up a frame of stamps illustrating how trends in architectural design had changed over the years in countries around the world, using the materials available on location, and architectural trends such as eco friendly considerations. Religious and Post Office buildings had separate sections. Mike Houchen displayed clothing fashions on stamps from Austria, and then a frame of postcards on the subject of Safety at Sea, which he was unable to display at the last meeting.

Safety at Sea - RNLI, pre-1974	Wendy receiving her Certificate	Ray receiving his Cup
The oldest working postbox	The torpedo convertedto a postbox in Ceylon	St Catherine's Day maxicard, France
Glamour card, playing golf	Glamour card, dress and music score	Glamour card, dress and music score

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 5th April 2018
Members Displays - Speed, transport, safety

Seventeen members, including one for the first time,attended this evening’s meeting, which started with Tony Arnold’s miscellany of subjects on the three themes, including Sammy Miller and his motorcycle museum near New Milton. A further miscellany of mainly postcards covering trams, the railway, hovercraft, water buses, the Malta trains which ran from 1883 to 1931 followed, explained by Ken Parrott.  Rick Willmott then displayed full sheets of German Railways stamps issued from 1880 to 1884, with labels showing the routes the particular trains travelled; cancelled stamps in a folder of the Trans-European Express and some ships on cover with excellent cancellations.  Paul Edwards put up an well-written-up display of steam locomotives from around the world.  Only starting collecting last year, this was an excellent first display which all members found most interesting.  Argentina’s 5-year plan, early Canadian locomotives, and the Puffing Billy form Melbourne, recently in the news, formed part of the display. Don Trowsdale showed us some bicycle and motorcycle covers followed by ships that were used on Antarctic Expeditions, and finally a range of individual items on the subject of Safety, including the Swordfish aircraft which was bale to attack enemy ships, flying very low beneath the firing line of the ships’ guns.
During the second half of the evening Chris Wheeler put up three frames of Royal Mail advertising posters which most members had not seen before, and then an unusual display of the railway accident and recovery of the Amey Roadstone ballast train with its Class 56 locomotive at Haywards Heath, by Peter Money who was responsible for the recovery and restoration of the track, ended the most varied and interesting evening.

Postcard of the Madeira Hill Railway and Toboggan Run	FDC of the Cycle Industry Commemoration	Sammy Miller with some of his motorcycle collection
Malta Railway FDC	Two of the GDR Railway Route Stamp Sheets	Stamp Argentina's 5-Year Plan, 1951
Two of the Australia Heritage Railway stamps	Two Royal Mail Publicity Posters	Recovery of the Class 56 Locomotive underway

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 15th March - Competition Evening
Green Cup, Novice Cup, Harry Parsons Shield, The Thematic Cup, Barry Proctor Cup, John Hilton Trophy
and the overall Bill Way Shield

There were eight entries this evening, three were judged by visiting Judge, Albert Jackson, the others by Club members. The results and overall winner of the Bill Way Shield are in the tables below. After completing his work, Albert again reminded Club members that Competitions were a key part in the life of any Philatelic group, helping participants to really concentrate on the parts of their collections wort developing and writing up.

Green Cup (General/Traditional)	Harry Parsons Shield (Postal History)	Thematic Cup	Barry Proctor Cup (Postcards)	John Hilton Trophy (modern Covers)	Novice
1	2	2	2	1	0

Entries judged by Albert Jackson

	Name	Subject	Points	Award
Green Cup
1st	Ray Saunders	The Forerunners of Great Britain's self-adhesive Postage Stamps	79	SILVER
Harry Parsons Shield
1st	Wendy Buckle	Latvia Postage Dues	84	GOLD
2nd	Rick Wilmot	French Occupied Zone after World War II	72	SILVER
The Thematic Cup
1st	Chris Wheeler	150 Years of the London Underground	65	SILVER
2nd	Mike Houchen	Inland Lighthouses	58	SILVER

Entries judged by Club Members

Barry Proctor Cup (Postcards)
1st	Chris Wheeler	London Underground
2nd	Mike Trickett	Colehill
John Hilton Trophy (Modern Covers)
1st	Chris Wheeler	Covers from the Scottish Isles
Bill Way Shield (Overall Position)
1st	Chris Wheeler	150 Years of the London Underground
2nd	Wendy Buckle	Latvia Postage Dues
3rd	Ray Saunders	The Forerunners of Great Britain's self-adhesive Postage Stamps
4th	Rick Wilmot	French Occupied Zone after World War II
5th	MikeTrickett	Colehill
6th	Chris Wheeler	London Underground
7th	Chris Wheeler	Covers from the Scottish Isles
8th	Mike Houchen	Inland Lighthouses

Going forward to the Ferndown Interclub Competition on 8 April

Postal History	Wendy Buckle	Latvia Postage Dues
Traditional	Ray Saunders	The Forerunners of Great Britain's self-adhesive Postage Stamps

(wendy buckle and chris wheeler)

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Thursday 1st March - Spring Auction

Cancelled due the "Beast from the East"

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Thursday 15 February 2018
Members Displays: Postcards

Mike Houchen opened the evening with a frame of postcards of local scenes of a century ago, with matching photographs taken in 2011, for comparison.  His second frame was of postcards from New Zealand, sent back to England whilst overseas, by his mother.  Matching stamps were on each exhibit.  Rob Wilmott followed with an array of postcards showing local scenes, and an unusual midget postcard of Miss Mabel Love in her younger days! He closed with a Ham Radio card. Malta was Ken Parrott’s theme, starting with some British and Irish cards that were valid for use in Malta until the 1950s.  A Field Post Office card was displayed, and some postcards posted from Malta with French and Greek stamps.  A set of 24 postcards featuring preserved single decker buses concluded his presentation, which was followed by a collection of postcards sent to Michael Mawdsley by friends and family from various parts of France.  Tony Arnold produced a three-frame collection on various themes, including Penguin Book covers, Valentine, Films, Advertising, Saucy Seaside, Railway stamp reproductions on postcards and finally a collection of British Butterflies.
After the break, Nicole Chattlain displayed a frame of excellently preserved postcards from Europe, sent to her great uncle by various friends, which like Michael Mawdsley’s display had a special personal touch.  Finally, Chris Wheeler put up a frame of modern Love Heart cards and a frame of Art Nouveau postcards from the 1890s.

Lytchett Village, 1905	St Aldelm's Church, Lytchett Heath	Midget Postcard of Miss Mabel Love	Rare Field Service Postcard, Malta 1916
Postcard "Received from H M Ship, No Charge to be Raised"	Family Postcard from La Rochelle	New Zealand Postcard with matching stamp, from Arthur's Point, Otago	Le Boulevard des Italiens, Paris

Salon de S Juan, Barcelona	Tony Arnold's extensive three frame display

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 1 February 2018
Guest Michael Elliott: "Aspects of Finnish Postal History"

Michael introduced his talk with an outline of the political and military history of Finland from 1939 to 1945 which fell into four eras.  These were described in detail through his amazing display of the postal history items he put up for club members to study.  Starting with the period 1939 to 1940, when Russia invaded eastern Finland and occupied the area, a selection of postal items was shown.
Strangely, this started with the establishment to the Forces Postal Service in 1937 (in anticipation of what was to come).  Various covers, showing various aspects of their service during the Russian invasion were shown, including a cover sent to the Football Association in England by a British football reporter who had been sent to Finland as all games had been cancelled in Britain due to the harsh winter of 1939-40.  There were several examples of returned covers, sent to army bases, but by the time they reached the bases the border had moved and the Camps had gone.
As Finland had no established Allies during this period, Swedish and Danish volunteers cane to their aid, and they in turn established their own postal services, with many fine examples being shown, using various letter sheets, and postal rates, including freepost stamps.  One of the most precious examples displayed was a British Volunteer Mail letter sent back to Britain by a member of the crew of a fire engine sent to Finland to assist in reducing the war damage.
1940 saw the Treaty of Moscow when an Interim Peace was established, but this did not last long as within a few months Finland decided it wanted its land back and the Continuation War commenced, however Russia re-invaded with the Germans in 1944, taking the eastern part of Finland again and evicting all the population, destroying everything as they advanced.  However due to other political pressures, the tide changed and the occupying forces were themselves evicted during late 1944 and 1945 in the Lapland War, leading to an eventual Peace.  So many unique examples of the postal history of the time, with cancellations, misdirections, redirections, censorship, sad letters of lost families and property, special interim postal arrangements, and even dealer fraud were displayed.
Michael was thanked by the Chairman for his very lucid and fascinating talk, which all those present endorsed.

10 March 1937 - Postcard from the Army Staff HQ during the Mobilisation Period	Use of a Bisect during the Continuation War period, 20 March 1940, with cachet "Last Post from Hanko"	Postcard to UK Football Association, with Finland stamp, 1940
30 July 1940 letter from the London Fire Brigade to the nine London Fire Brigade Volunteers in Finland - Rare	Letter from England during the Interim Peace period, undelivered and returned to sender, "Postal Service Suspended"	Postcard from Swedish Volunteer to his homeland 20 February 1943 during the Winter War
Returned letter from a Finnish Girl to a German Soldier during the Continuation War period, 1 June 1942	Parcel card to a Corporal in Kpk No 6, dated 27 November 1944, during the Lapland War	Example of freepost mail using stamps, addressed just to the Name and Unit Number, during the Lapland War

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 18 January 2018
Explorers and Discovery

The evening started with Mike Houchen’s display featuring articles, photos, cards and stamps from various countries showing the Christopher Columbus monument located in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic, which was started in 1852 and completed in 1992.  He closed with two pages of worldwide stamps featuring Columbus.  Mike Trickett followed with Scientists, Inventors and Explorers featured on stamps from France, all with clear annotations.  Among them were the better-known names like Madame Curie and Ampere, but René Laennec who invented the stethoscope in 1815 was also featured.  Several colourful FDCs were included in the display.  Rick Wilmott drew on his extensive collection, taking us around the world with philatelic material featuring Captain Cook, Darwin, space exploration, and several rarely seen exhibits such as those of the Russian Arctic and Antarctic explorers, closing with a postcard featuring the 175th anniversary of the birth of the Russian activist, Peter Protopkin who participated in several geological expeditions in Siberia in the 1860s and 1870s, and who has never featured on his homeland’s stamps.  Chris Wheeler used a wide range of Australian Antarctic Territory stamps to trace the life and exploration of Sir Douglas Mawson on the Nimrod Expedition, and then his own Australasian Expedition finding the Magnetic South Pole.
Finally, Tony Arnold described his two frame open philately exhibit which included photos, articles, stamps and FDCs of many of the world’s famous explorers, scientists and inventors, starting with Sir Francis Younghusband who was the first to explore Tibet and meet the Dalai Lama. He is buried locally in Lytchett Minster.  Darwin, Shackleton, Wallace, Einstein, Newton, Columbus, Cook, The Pilgrim Fathers and the Vikings were amongst those included in the display.  Tony closed with some recent newspaper articles about 2018 GB stamp issues such as the Game of Thrones and Dad’s Army.

Dominican Republic set featuring the Christopher Columbus lighthouse and memorial	Bolivia miniature sheet commemorating 500 years since Columbus discovered America	Two France stamps featuring Jacques Callot, baroque printmaker, draftsmanand etcher
FDC featuring Gaston Plante, inventor of the lead-acid battery	FDC featuring Joseph Lister, pioneero of antiseptic surgery	Postcard featuring Russian activist, Peter Protopkin

Tony Arnold's Extensive Display

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 4 January 2018
Sporting records, achievements; competitions; pleasure boating

The New Year started with contributions from many members. Most chose aspects of the various Olympic Games held over the years, with stamps featuring specific aspects of their production. Rick Wilmot showed the Australian 2000 sheets, followed by a set of very interesting covers commemorating women chess champions. Mike Houchen followed by using the very recently issued miniature sheet and its accompanying posters and promotion material "The Great Kiwi Road Trip", which had several pleasure boating scenes included. Don Trowsdale featured the Great Britain 2012 Olympics, as did Ken Parott, who also included the Smiler Sheets from 2009 to 2011, (now listed in a separate section of the SG Catalogue). Mike Trickett showed stamps from the Greece 1896 Olymics, and some later issues from Greece, France and Finland. Chris Wheeler closed with a frame of stamps showing all aspects of pleasure boating - the Royal Yachts, canoeing, windsurfing, power boating, rowing, yacht racing and finally some promotional labels from Nestle and Evinrude.

Cover marking the Second Yugoslav Workers Open Chess Championship	Great Britain - Gold Medal Winner stamp - Josef Craig	Great Britain ex booklet strips from July 2010 3rd issue
Australia Gold Olympic Winner sheet, 2000 Olympics	First modern Olympics, Greece, 1896 - commemorative stamp issue	New Zealand "The Great Kiwi Road Trip", with pleasure boating scenes

(chris wheeler)

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Thursday 21 December 2017
Christmas Social & displays of anything but stamps

There was a good turn-out for this year's Christmas Social. Mnay members brought along non philatelic items for display, including a collection of national flags, two very old East African wooden family pieces, a collection of Barclays ties from South Africa, a large format 1959 Reminiscent Annual and a collection of banknotes from travels around the world. Many members also brought festive fare, and items for the raffle. Following the meal, everyone took part in the game of identifying 28 items in cotton bags, ranging from a toothbrush, to a drain cover, which Tony Arnold had devised. This was most avidly pursued and enjoyed. The winner achieved 26 correct answers and was awarded by drawing the first raffle ticket. A great evening!!

Getting set up for the evening
The table and displays	Bank Notes from Round the World

1967 singles	Members actively identifying the secret objects

(Chris Wheeler)

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Thursday 16 November 2017
Members Displays - 50 years ago, anything relating to 1967, our Founding Year

This evening the theme was 1967, our Founding Year. Nine members put up displays,two of them displaying for the first time. With such a narrow subject, there was bound to be some overlap and repetition. In summary:-

Mike Trickett began with an unpaid, surcharged postcard from France to England with an unexplained 20/60 To Pay marking on it; a full set of the 1967 France stamps; stamps from 1967 from Lundy, Finland and Greece. Alan King followed with the 1967 Machin issues, including full sheets, varieties, phosphor bands andcolour hues. Michael Mawdsley also put up some 1967 Machin issues, and a range of commemoratives released that year or shortly afterwards,but commemorating 1967 events, such as the launch of the QEII and the Opening of the Liverpool Cathedral. Also included were the last £sd and first $c issues from New Zealand, and the final issue from Yemen. Mike Houchen showed British 1967 commemoratives and covers; the complete 1967 set from Australia and Austria; the block of four RSPCA stamps from Lundy in their four languages, isssued following the Torey Canyon disaster. Rick Wilmot concentrated on Yugoslavia, with the full Tito definitive set and all the commemoratives from that year, with themes of flowers, fables, Boris Becker and one in particular of the 16th century bridge. Tony Arnold represented three different people in his displays, the first from member Fred Hoare who could not be present, then two frames of material relating to the Six Day War in 1967 on behalf of his wife, and then his own display of two frames covering a wide range of topics and material relating to events and personalities from 1967 with local connections, closing with the final edition of the Boys Own magazine. Linda Westwood showed us a photograph taken when she was at boarding school in Oxted, and two stamp albums which she started in 1967.

Following a lengthy break, whilst all this material was looked at and discussed, Ken Parrott displayed a range of stamps and covers from Malta, including one with all four of the 1967 Postage Due stamps on it; covers issued for Christmas 1967 with stamps issued from the set on different dates; and the last non-phosphor stamp booklet. Chris Wheeler closed the evening with two 1967 competition entries showing covers demonstrating various philatelic aspects from Great Britain, and then Worldwide.

Surcharged postcard from France to England, 1967	The last GB non-phosphor stamp booklet, 1967	1967 Certificate of Posting, GB
The block of four Lundy stamps from 1967, in four languages	The Yugoslavia definitive Tito issue of 1967	The 16th Century Memed Pasa Sokolovic Bridge of Visegard across the Drina River, issued in 1967
Centenary cover from Gympie, Queensland from 1967	Linda's school photo from 1967	The set of four Postage Due stamps issued by Malta in 1967 on cover

(chris wheeler)

 

 

Last updated 23 November 2018